29th June 2007
NO. 10, DOWNING St
As Peter Mandelson sat at the cabinet table for the first time as PM he could not help but feel Gordon Brown’s eyes burning into him. It had been just a few days since he had defeated Brown in the leadership election and it was expected that he would have been ousted by the time of the first cabinet meeting. Instead he hung on as Mandelson attempted to avoid any form of civil war in the PLP.
His election as leader had provided a bump in the polls for Labour, putting them in the lead for the first time in months. The Tories remained muddling around at 32% while the Lib Dems jumped from 22% to just 13%. Labour remained solid at 37% but from recent meetings with advisers and electoral nerds it seemed poll figures of that kind could only just provide them a Major style majority, if not smaller.
Mandelson knew he needed a mandate in order to govern correctly and provide enough time to truly bring forward some real reforms. He knew without Brown the campaign could be difficult. He knew David Cameron had the charismatic edge over him. He knew he had to act soon.
“Well then, let’s get to work.”
NO. 10, DOWNING St
As Peter Mandelson sat at the cabinet table for the first time as PM he could not help but feel Gordon Brown’s eyes burning into him. It had been just a few days since he had defeated Brown in the leadership election and it was expected that he would have been ousted by the time of the first cabinet meeting. Instead he hung on as Mandelson attempted to avoid any form of civil war in the PLP.
His election as leader had provided a bump in the polls for Labour, putting them in the lead for the first time in months. The Tories remained muddling around at 32% while the Lib Dems jumped from 22% to just 13%. Labour remained solid at 37% but from recent meetings with advisers and electoral nerds it seemed poll figures of that kind could only just provide them a Major style majority, if not smaller.
Mandelson knew he needed a mandate in order to govern correctly and provide enough time to truly bring forward some real reforms. He knew without Brown the campaign could be difficult. He knew David Cameron had the charismatic edge over him. He knew he had to act soon.
“Well then, let’s get to work.”